


And This Is Now

by orphan_account



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Childbirth, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Gen, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mpreg, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Pregnancy, Swearing, What Have I Done, With a little bit of fluff, at all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-05 20:26:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11585562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Messing around with possible scenes; my brain wouldn't let this one go. **This is an AU. I am in no way implying that this could or would ever happen. Just throwing story ideas around.**





	And This Is Now

Dan and Arin are arguing. Again.

It's been happening a lot the past few weeks. As Dan neared -- and passed -- his due date, the stress just piled up on both of them, and now they're snapping at each other for everything. The other Grumps have learned to give them a wide berth.

"...I didn't think you'd mind!"

"Well if you'd fucking ask me first, then you'd know, wouldn't you?"

"We haven't done an episode of this one in ages, we need to get back into it if we're gonna finish the series. And you liked  _Breath of the Wild_ last time we played it."

"So that justifies not telling me until the eleventh hour?"

"Well, do you like it or not?"

"I do!"

"Then why are we even arguing right now?"

Dan makes a dismissive noise and turns away. Arin follows him.

"Alright, look. If you wanna do a different game, go pick one out. Otherwise, I'll see you in the office in twenty minutes." Dan doesn't answer, but he walks slowly enough these days that Arin can easily catch up. Arin steps in front of him. "Deal?"

"Fine." Dan says curtly. "Sounds good." then he steps around Arin and continues to the door. Arin turns on his heel and goes back the way he came.

Across the room, Vernon and Ross trade skeptical looks and quietly go back to their work.

 

* * *

 

Once upstairs, Dan makes a beeline for the couch. He just needs some time to decompress before going back down there...everything is irritating right now. Even himself. Especially himself. That cliché of feeling like a blimp is absolutely true. Everything is sore, he walks like a goddamn cowboy, and the pressure makes it feel like his hips are going to pop out of their sockets. Hooray for pity parties.

Dan gathers some pillows, arranges his nest, and gingerly lowers himself onto his left side (that's supposed to help with the fake contractions, right? The Braxton-whatevers?). It helps a little. Better than nothing. Bit by bit, he lets himself relax and tries not to doze. It won't help the already-strained relations if he's late to the Grump session. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and soon he's struggling to keep his eyes open. Not five minutes later, he's down for the count.

And then he's awake again, just as suddenly. The pressure in his hips has skyrocketed all of a sudden.

_What the hell are you doing in there, kid? Rearranging furniture?_

He takes a spare pillow and stuffs it between his knees. It seems to help; the pressure ramps back down after a minute or so. Thank god, maybe now he can get back to -- wait, what time is it? Dan squints at the clock across the room.

Damn. T-minus two minutes.

Going from horizontal to vertical takes almost a minute by itself. And once he's standing, the pressure splinters up and ties his back in knots. Sheesh. This pregnancy thing is not for the faint of heart. Dan sighs and heads back downstairs.

 

* * *

 

"You're late."

The words are out of Arin's mouth before Dan has even shut the door. Dan's sure he has some kind of witty comeback, and any other time he would've used it. But today it's not worth the argument. He closes the door and makes his way over to sit beside Arin.

"Getting down the stairs takes a while. And I had to talk to Barry about something." he explains as he folds himself onto the couch. Arin nods acknowledgment. They bring up the menu screen and load their game in silence. Then Arin looks at him askance.

"You okay?"

Dan doesn't look at him. "No, not really. I'm sore and I feel like a blimp. Next question."

"I was just asking."

"...I know. 'm sorry."

"No big deal, dude." there's a clear note of fondness in Arin's voice now. He pulls his microphone in closer. Dan does the same. "You ready to start the episode?"

His boyfriend sighs. "Ready when you are."

"'K." Arin reaches over and hits RECORD. On the wall, the timer starts counting the seconds. Arin counts down on his fingers. _Five...four...three...two--_

"Hey everybody, welcome to Game Grumps. Today we're playing  _Zelda: Breath of the Wild_..."

 

* * *

 

 

"...alright, next time on Game Grumps. See you then."

Arin puts down his controller and turns to Dan. Dan looks back, bemused.

"What?"

"You sure you're okay to do this?"

"Yeah, why?"

Arin studies Dan's face for a moment. Then he shakes his head as though he didn't find what he was looking for. "You seem kinda off."

"That might have something to do with the seven-pound child pressing on my organs right now," Dan deadpans.

"Well, yeah, but..." Arin shrugs. "You're just moving around a lot. Like it hurts or something."

Dan shifts again, illustrating both their points. Then he hesitates. Opens his mouth to speak, then closes it. "I dunno," he says eventually. "She must be really active today. Like, there's already a lot of pressure, but it keeps spiking." he tangles his hands together in what remains of his lap.

There must have been something in his voice; Arin's brows knit with concern. "Is it regular?"

"Not super regular...I mean, not that I've noticed." Dan glances up from his hands, notices Arin's expression, and sighs. "What?"

"You'd tell me if you were having contractions, right?"

Dan rolls his eyes. "Let's just get back to the game, dude."

"Dan."

" _What_ _?_ "

"You didn't answer my question."

Dan answers with a withering look. "No, Arin, I'd keep it a secret. Look, I don't know if they're contractions, but if they are, then yes, I will tell you. Can we play the game now?"

Arin doesn't say anything more on the subject. He just leans over and starts the next episode, and they get right back into their show.

But he does keep a close eye on Dan.

 

* * *

 

Three hours and many episodes later, Dan isn't doing any better. He's still fidgeting; the spikes in pressure are frequent and borderline painful now, making it hard to concentrate. Arin ends up carrying a lot of the commentary. And he keeps stealing glances when Dan's least expecting it, so on top of everything, Dan has to pretend nothing's wrong.

Which is getting difficult.

Arin's in the middle of a boss fight right now. Another version of Ganon. Thunder-something or other. Whatever it is, Dan's just glad it's keeping Arin's attention on the screen. He's kind of freaking out on the inside, and it's probably starting to show on the outside too. On the one hand, he'd like to not be pregnant anymore; on the other hand, he wishes he could get from A to B without the whole labor and delivery part. Honestly, the thought that he might be in labor right now scares him to death.

Should he tell Arin this? Probably.

Is he going to? Well...denial's a powerful thing.

"Oh crap. Oh crap, oh  _CRAP--"_ Arin furiously button-mashes for a few seconds. "Aw, c'mon,  _no!"_ on screen, his character ducks for cover and downs a healing potion or two. "Fuck, dude, he's kicking my ass!"

"He sure is." Dan scoots a little lower on the couch. It doesn't help. He tries to keep the strain out of his voice. "I believe in you, buddy."

"Thanks, Dan," Arin says through clenched teeth, "not very useful, but I appreciate the sentiment of theAAAH!!" the words spike into his trademark scream as Ganon wallops his character with ball lightning, slicing off a good two-thirds of his health. He lets out a string of very creative swear words.

Dan can't help but laugh at this. It's short-lived, though; his muscles seize up again, and this time it thoroughly crosses the line into being painful. He squeezes the nearest pillow and clenches his teeth --  _you got this, you got this_ \-- but a quiet curse slips past anyway. Arin throws him a glance.

"What was that? You okay?"

"Peachy," Dan grits out the word. "Just a little uncomfortable."

"Same here. Ganon is just --  _ah, dammit_ \-- he's wipin' the floor with me, and I don't have enough potions to -- wait, did I just hurt him? Did that actually do damage?" Arin misses the point entirely. And Dan is about to tell him as much, when suddenly a new feeling hits: a dull  _pop_ somewhere inside him. Which is followed by a slight lessening of pressure that he doesn't get to enjoy because the next instant, he's even more uncomfortable. Namely, damp in places he shouldn't be. Extremely damp. And it's spreading.

"Oh my god."

"Right? I didn't think that would actually work." Arin mashes a few buttons, and cheers as his character whacks a few points off of Ganon's health.

"No, Arin, look--"

"Hang on. I think I can beat 'im if I do that a couple more times..."

Fuck, it's still going. All the weight in his belly has settled low and heavy in his pelvis. "Arin."

"Just a sec--"

" _Arin._ "

"Just a  _sec_ , I almost got him--"

"Arin, for fuck's sake--" Now he's really freaking out. Dan shoves his microphone out of the way and heaves himself up to stand between Arin and the screen. "Put the fucking game down and listen to me."

Arin is incredulous, at least until his brain catches up to his eyes. "Dude, what the hell are you-?" he stares. "...your water broke."

"Yes." at last, he gets it.

"Oh my god. Um. Okay...okay, let's--" Arin tosses his controller to the other side of the couch and stands up. "Do we have time to drive to the hospital?"

Dan shakes his head. "I don't think she's gonna wait that long."

"Right. Okay. Ambulance." Arin reaches for his phone. Pats one pocket, then the other. Then his back pockets. "Where the hell is-? Hang on..." he feels around the cushions, then goes to look behind the couch. "See, this is why you should have told me."

"Not a good time, dude."

Arin jogs across the room to search the bookshelf, still muttering about phones. Dan, meanwhile, tries not to panic.

_This is happening. This is actually happening._

Dammit, another wave's coming. This one's a lot worse. His legs decide to rebel, and he sits heavily down on the couch. How long has it been since the last one? He doesn't know, but it doesn't matter much now. The weight shifts down into a single point, and with it comes a much more urgent feeling that -- oh no.

"Arin. _Arin_ ," he says breathlessly, and again when there's no response.

"Hang on, I'm gonna go ask Ross if I can use his phone, okay?" Arin calls back. Dan hears the doorknob rattle.

"No time." Dan presses himself back into the couch. Jeez, even words are difficult now. "She's coming. I have to push."

"What? No, no no no no no --" Arin trots back across the room. "Not yet. Don't push yet, okay? Just hang on, like, one more minute--"

But Dan is already well into pushing. He breaks off the effort abruptly and draws a harsh breath. "I can't," he gasps. Then he cranes his head back to look at his boyfriend. "Arin, I'm serious, this is happening right the fuck now. Get over here." a little bit of the panic sneaks into his voice. He scoots himself to the edge of the couch and stays there, bracing his hands on his knees. After a moment's hesitation, Arin ducks around the couch to stand in front of him.

"Tell me what you need."

"Pants. Off." Dan chokes out the words on the leading edge of a contraction. Arin does as he's told, and by the time he tosses the soaked pajama pants aside, Dan is pushing again. Then Dan nods to the middle distance. "Help...down to the floor. Need something to push against."

Arin lets Dan brace his hands on his shoulders, then shuffles back. Dan inches forward with him until he can lower himself to the floor, where he immediately leans against the couch and tents his legs. Arin is left to shuffle out of the way and try to keep up. He's gone a little pale.

"Dan, are you sure -- we're not prepared for this. At all. I can call an ambulance, they'd be here in, like, five minutes, if you --"

"Arin, just...shut up and help me. She's coming, there's nothing I can...god, again with the--" leaving the sentence unfinished, he braces himself on the couch and pushes. Arin sits at his feet and tries to coach him through it but really, neither of them know what they're doing right now. It's much, much scarier than he thought it would be.

"Oh my god. Oh my  _god,"_ Dan pants. His voice is strained.

"Yeah, me too. Just...just keep it up. You got this."

Dan throws himself into the next contraction with a loud moan, canting his hips forward. He's not so sure. The contraction ends on a startled sound; his feet press into Arin's knees and almost scoot him back to the entertainment center.

"It fucking  _burns,_ Arin, I--"

"Yes you can. You're doing so good already. Keep going."

Not for the first time, they're very glad the recording room is soundproofed: Dan vocalizes loudly through the next contractions.

Suddenly Arin's breath hitches. "I see her. Whatever you just did, do it again." his eyes are wide, as though he just realized what's happening. "I-- I saw her. Holy shit..." Dan says nothing. Just keeps pushing and pushing, then breaks it off abruptly with a sound just shy of a yelp. He grits out Arin's name. Arin puts his hands on Dan's knees, both reassuring and steadying. "I got you, babe, keep going. You got this."

Dan meets his gaze, although it's a little blurry. He's still not sure.

 

* * *

 

"Did you hear that?"

Ross looks up from his tablet. The office is quiet, as far as he can tell. "What?"

"Listen." Vernon shushes him.

Ross waits. He listens. But he doesn't--

"That, right there." Vernon points to the recording room door. Ross listens so hard his ears almost hurt, and he finally hears it: a yell from behind the door. Nothing too remarkable about that, except that it sounds like Dan and not Arin. Loud, too, to get past the soundproofing. He shrugs.

"They're yelling, they do that all the time. No big deal." he picks up his pen.

"Yeah, but...I dunno. Kinda sounds like something's wrong." Vernon continues to watch the door. There's another yell; he furrows his brow.

"Prob'ly means Dan's losing."

"What are they playing, anyway? Did they ever decide on a game?"

"Hell if I know. I usually just tune it out when they argue, unless I hear my name."

Vernon snorts with amusement. Then another yell comes from behind the door, higher and more drawn out. He turns toward it again. "...D'you think we should check on them?"

Ross glances up at him. "You wanna get yelled at by Arin, be my guest."

"But--"

"Look, dude." Ross puts his pen down again and folds his arms on the desk. "If something's wrong, they'll come out and let us know, alright?"

There's a skeptical quirk to Vernon's expression. He starts to speak, but Ross fixes him with a look that shuts him up. He might not believe Ross, but that's clearly the end of the conversation. He goes back to work, and tries not to listen.

 

* * *

 

"Keep going, keep going--"

Dan moans through clenched teeth as he bears down. It escalates to a gravelly yell at the tail end of the contraction, and keeps going until he runs out of breath. Then he gulps in another breath and gears up for the next one.

"Almost there." Arin grins unsteadily. He looks just as shaky and stressed as Dan.

His boyfriend lets out a shaky little sound, clearly overwhelmed. His body, however, doesn't hesitate, and he bears down hard. Ten seconds, twenty seconds. Arin draws a sharp breath. 

"I got her head."

Dan says nothing; it's doubtful he even heard. He scoots a little further down, so only his shoulders are touching the couch, and rides into the contraction. This time, he doesn't even stop for breath. Just pushes, yelling like he doesn't care who hears, until --

"Holy shit. Holy -- Dan, you did it! You did it, you can stop, I got her!" Arin's voice wobbles, but he's beaming at the same time. Dan goes limp; his chest is heaving. "...Dan?"

"'M good," Dan says weakly. Then, even quieter, "holy  _fuck_..."

Suddenly the baby decides to weigh in; she wiggles in Arin's arms and lets out a squawk of indignation. Dan sits up, and Arin hands her over.

"Hey. Hi, little buddy." he laughs. It turns into a sob, then a cough as he tries to hide it, which startles the baby into really screaming. Dan rubs his eyes with his free hand and sniffles quietly. Arin scoots in a little closer, forgetting for a moment where they are.

"Gotta let the whole world know you're here, huh?"

The baby yowls again, louder. Suddenly, out in the office, there's a faint commotion. Feet  _thump-thump-thumping_ down the hallway, someone calling their names. Then the door flies open and Ross barrels into the room, with Vernon close on his heels. They both skid to a halt.

Vernon sputters. "What the hell-?"

Dan looks over his shoulder at them with a placid "hey". Arin, on the other hand, is all business.

"We'll explain later," he says quickly. "I need the first aid kit from upstairs, some string, and towels. Quick." Vernon immediately turns tail and vanishes back the way he came; Ross follows a split second later. "And Ross--" Arin calls after him. He reappears in the doorway. "call an ambulance as well."

Ross nods, then disappears again. Arin turns back to Dan. The baby has mostly stopped crying, and now just looks offended by everything. Dan huffs out a weak laugh.

"'We'll explain later'?" he echoes. "Do we even know what just happened?"

"I sure as hell don't." the recording room is always chilly; Arin grabs a blanket from the back of the couch and drapes it over Dan and the baby. Dan adjusts it so the baby's face can peek out. Then he just stares at her. Arin sits down next to him. "Now  _this_ is why you should've said something."

"Shut up, dude. I've never been in labor, I didn't know what it was supposed to feel like."

Arin shrugs. "She's amazing, though."

"Right?" Dan grins. There are still tears in his eyes. "We made a human, how cool is that?" his expression goes thoughtful. "...I feel like I should be freaking out right now." he muses.

"Me too. It'll probably hit later."

There are footsteps coming back down the hall. Arin glances toward the sound. This is probably the last quiet moment they'll have for quite a while; he turns back to Dan and tries to kiss his cheek, but ends up getting mostly hair.

"'M proud of you," he says quietly.

"Yeah..." Dan's smile makes a comeback. "I'm proud of  _us."_

 

°°•••°°

**Author's Note:**

> If you like the story, please leave a comment -- I'd love to hear from you!


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